The Atlanta Hawks will officially be without veteran forward and trade deadline acquisition Larry Nance Jr. for the final 10 games of the regular season. Nance suffered a fractured finger and has been sidelined ever since.
Hawks star Trae Young initially hinted that Nance could be out for the season. Nance underwent surgery in January. The Hawks have finally provided an update.
The possibility remains that Nance can return to play in the postseason.
“Larry Nance Jr. (right medial femoral condyle fracture on Feb. 10 at Orlando) continues to progress through his rehabilitation,” the Hawks announced in a post on X on March 26. “He will be re-evaluated following the regular season, and an update on his status will be provided at that time.”
Nance has not played since February 10, missing the Hawks’ last 18 games. That is as many games in which Nance, who openly lobbied head coach Quin Snyder about his role, played at least 15 minutes.
He averaged 8.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in what could be his only season in a Hawks jersey.
Larry Nance Jr. heading to unrestricted free agency after 1 season with Hawks
The Hawks acquired Nance as part of the trade that sent Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans. He is on an expiring two-year, $22.5 million contract and will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Nance, 32, has played for five different NBA franchises in his career, and he has been traded four times, including to the Hawks.
This offseason will be Nance’s first foray into free agency since he was drafted.
Nance was the No. 27 overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers and spent two-plus seasons there before LA traded him. He has also suited up for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers.
He championed the Hawks’ chances to contend for the postseason following his trade from New Orleans.
Nance said he was happy to get out of the highly competitive Western Conference.
“I was thrilled to get out of the West, because that 1 through 6, 1 through 15 there is brutal. But if you look at the East, we got a number amount of teams that aren't looking to make the playoffs or care more about their draft stock than wins, and we’re not one of those teams,” Nance told the panel of “The Hoop Collective” podcast on their September 12 live episode.
“Hopefully, if we do what we're supposed to do, we'll snag an 8-seed, snag a 7-seed, surprise some people.”
Nance needs the Hawks to not only qualify for the postseason, but likely the playoffs.
His is a knee injury, so he must also ramp up and return to the floor quickly once he is healed to get his conditioning back up to snuff. However, there is no guarantee he will be cleared upon that re-evaluation date or that the Hawks will have much if any basketball left to play.